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George Brent is a "Special Agent" in this 1935 crime drama also starring Bette Davis and Ricardo Cortez. The original story was written by a newspaperman and is most likely based on the Al Capone case. Brent plays a reporter, Bill Bradford, but his job is a cover -he's an undercover Federal agent after a crook, Alexander Carston (Cortez) for tax evasion. His entrée into the books of Carston's organization is the bookkeeper, Julie Gardner, with whom he's also in love. After the case is built, Carston is arrested and Julie is taken into protective custody. But can she really be protected against Carston?

This is a fairly routine drama with good acting and some solid action. Davis is very young and blonde here, and not as glamorized as she is in other early films - "The Man Who Played God," "Fashions of 1934" or "Ex-Lady" but nevertheless quite pretty. She's a little too classy to be a mob bookkeeper; as the character, however, she exhibits intelligence, which certainly Julie would have. Brent is his usual pleasant self as Bill, and Cortez is a sinister gangster.

The only part of the film that gave me a giggle was the riddling of men with machine guns as they continued to stand until their bodies must have had more holes than Swiss cheese before dramatically falling. Certainly they would have been dead long before the 100th bullet.

Interesting for early Davis and the always good Cortez.

This crime melodrama is never dull and has some very exciting moments, although the action is improbable. It's well-paced with fine acting: young and beautiful Bette Davis is enjoyable to watch, but her sophistication seems a bit out of place while working for a hood; George Brent is as suave as ever; and Ricardo Cortez makes a good heavy, with lighting effects making him look more sinister. I also liked the acting of many of the supporting characters such as Robert Strange (who is a standout), J. Carroll Naish and Joseph Sawyer, as three of Cortez's murdering henchmen. Anyone who likes the genre should like this film.

Martin Mooney, who provided the story on which this film is based, was a newspaper man and well aware that the government was sending noted racketeers up the river for income tax evasion. Al 'Scarface' Capone was indicted by a federal grand jury for that offense and spent eight years behind bars starting in 1931.

The only thing about Special Agent worth remembering is that for Bette Davis it was the film that she did immediately prior to her first Oscar winner Dangerous. Other than that it was the kind of potboiler programmer that Warner Brothers kept casting her in despite acclaim she got for a few films like Of Human Bondage.

At least she got her favorite leading man in Special Agent and in the title role. George Brent has the perfect cover for being a Special Agent for the Treasury Department. He's a reporter which means he can go places see things and ask questions and no one suspects. Least of all gambler/racketeer Ricardo Cortez who Brent has been working on for years to take down.

Of course this film was done with the successful prosecution of Al Capone in the mind of the movie-going public. Davis keeps Cortez's books and Brent is keeping company with her. Here the story is rather vague. Did he like her before or after he learned she was keeper of the records in her own code so even Cortez can't decipher it. His convincing Bette to turn on Cortez wasn't really convincing to me.

Coming off best in this film is Ricardo Cortez. He is one shrewd article who has his fingers everywhere, it's why no one's caught him till now and Brent nearly doesn't get him this time.

Special Agent did Bette Davis and George Brent no harm and great things were in the offing for Bette Davis.

In the 1930s, Warner Brothers was the place for gangster films, as they churned out a huge number of high-quality films in this genre. While this one did NOT star the usual gangster stars of the day (Cagney or Edward G. Robinson), it star the ever-capable George Brent as a federal agent and Ricardo Cortez as an Al Capone-like thug. I particularly liked Cortez's little speech to Brent that men like him are above the law and can never be convicted--it was a very exciting scene. In addition to these two, the film also stars Bette Davis in a pretty decent role as Cortez's bookkeeper. The film features good writing, dialog and acting and while not the greatest gangster film, it is very good and watchable. Oh, and by the way, the ending is pretty exciting (and violent), so it won't disappoint.

By the way, if you see the film and it seems familiar, this appears to be a reworking of the plot from the MGM film THE SECRET SIX. There are just too many similarities to be coincidental, as both heroes are government agents whose cover is newspaper reporter.

Bette Davis was already an established actress when she did this film with 27 movies under her belt, and an Oscar nomination for Of Human Bondage. She would win an Oscar for Dangerous the same year this film was released. This is a different Bette Davis than most of us are used to seeing. She was a cute blonde in this film and here acting ability was very evident even in this average gangster flick.

This flick had a good story about trying to bring down a mobster (Ricardo Cortez) with a T-Man (George Brent) posing as a newspaper reporter. You have to suspend belief at some of the story, but it's not 2007! Brent and Davis would join forces later with Bogey and Ronald Reagan in the Oscar-nominated Dark Victory.

Saw 'Special Agent' for two main reasons. One is my high appreciation for Bette Davis, considered an acting legend, well more like a legend in any field, for good reason. Her performances in the likes of 'All About Eve' (iconic), 'Now Voyager' and 'The Letter' are evidence of that. Also love the genre it fits under, many good to classic films in the genre, and when it is done right (many cases of that being the case, but others have fallen into the potential traps) melodrama can be great.

Found 'Special Agent' to be a well done film on the whole. It may not fit my definition of a "special" film and may not be in the extraordinary category. Not everything works, the story could have been better or at least consistently executed. A vast majority of elements do work though, and generally wonderfully. A lot of good things here in 'Special Agent', namely the lighting and the acting, and it is just good fun. As long as not too much is expected, many should enjoy it.

Will start with what doesn't quite work, and actually it isn't a lot and is more mixed feelings than anything disastrously done. While always compelling and well paced, the story can be far-fetched and at times a touch over-complicated. The final third is not always easy to swallow.

Davis does very well in her role and admired that she tried to break away from her relative type-casting at the time, but can see where another commentator is coming from in their feelings of her sophisticated image not always fitting with the film's atmosphere.

The cast do a great job, with George Brent a charming male lead and Robert Strange and J. Carroll Naish imposing enough but the best performance comes from Ricardo Cortez on absolutely chilling form. 'Special Agent' is always confidently directed, while the story is generally fun and atmospheric without being overwrought and it is never dull.

It is a very well made film, with the visual standout being the lighting which is genuinely eerie. It has been said that the lighting makes Cortez scarier than he already is and personally cannot disagree. The dialogue is taut and sophisticated with the odd amusing part too, never feeling over-melodramatic or talky. Nicely scored too.

Overall, good fun. 7/10

Newspaper reporter Bill Bradford (George Brent) is recruited to bring down gangster Alexander Carston. Julie Gardner (Bette Davis) is Carston's bookkeeper who holds the codes to his books. Bill intends on turning her and convicting him of tax evasion.

This is a pretty good gangster movie which is lightly referring to Al Capone. It's great to have Bette Davis and she has a pretty good role. It would be nice to have someone just as iconic to be her partner in crime.

George Brent is a reporter and pretty chummy with racketeer Ricardo Cortez. Bette Davis is Cortez' personal secretary and keeps his books for him in code. Everyone knows what Cortez is, and Miss Davis fears him -- he's ruthless with 'associates' whom he doesn't find useful and might be a risk. the local DA can't jail him, but the Feds look to get him on income tax evasion, like they got capone.

Miss Davis wears hideous-looking costumes, with lots oflace, that make her look even skinnier than usual. Brent is competent, and it's Cortez who owns this movie. His veiled threats are terrifying. Still, despite the occasional flares of machine-gun fire, it's a well-financed programmer.

This was Bette Davis' reward for fighting the Warner Brothers for better roles and losing. Her next movie would win her an Academy Award.

Above-average gangster film, typical of the '30s genre. Fun watching, but nothing too extraordinary...EXCEPT some of the close-up scenes involving Ricardo Cortez. With the help of some great lighting, his eyes and facial expressions are chillingly sinister! In particular, there is his private showdown with Armitage (Robert Strange)...simply unforgettable.

I also found Cortez's expressions to be reminiscent of Pacino in the Godfather (or should i say the reverse)...i wonder if Pacino studied this film at some point.

Bette Davis clearly showed great acting chops, but her role was fairly typecast and thus limited her range somewhat. George Brent did just fine...his role was probably the most straightforward. The supporting cast was outstanding...lots of subplots, double-crosses, and idiosyncrasies that enriched the story.

Special Agent (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A Fed (George Brent) goes undercover to bring down a gangster (Ricardo Cortez) but he's going to need help from the gangster's book keeper (Bette Davis). This is pretty typical stuff from Warner and their gangster pictures but it's brought up a few levels by the impressive cast. I'm not a big fan of Brent but he makes for a good lead here and delivers a fine performance. Cortez steals the show as the gangster and Davis is decent in her role. The supporting cast includes Henry O'Neill, J. Carrol Naish and Joe Sawyer. The story really doesn't contain anything new or fresh but if you're a fan of these Warner pictures then this one should keep you entertained through its short running time.

SPECIAL AGENT (Warner Brothers, 1935), directed by William Keighley, teams Bette Davis and George Brent for the fifth time since their initially pairing in 1932. Following the success to the studio's own G-MEN (1935) starring James Cagney, leading other yesterdays gangsters as Edward G. Robertson working on the side of the law in similar themed BULLETS OR BALLOTS (1936), SPECIAL AGENT ranks another crime caper dealing with federal agents versus crime incorporated. While Bette Davis heads the cast with George Brent in the title role, the story really belongs to the third-billed Ricardo Cortez as the mean and feared crime boss who stops at nothing.

The story focuses on Bill Bradford (George Brent), a special agent of seven years for the Department of Internal Revenue, assigned to work undercover as an ace newspaper reporter to obtain confidence with Alexander Carston (Ricardo Cortez), a crime boss and manager of the 122 Club gambling casino, to acquire enough evidence from his secret books and statements for his arrest on income tax evasion. Julie Gardner (Bette Davis) is Carston's trusted personal bookkeeper who gets paid well, but fears that one day she will be killed off as other victims who have gone against Carston. During his investigation, Bill becomes involved with Julie while at the same gathers Carston's enough information regarding underworld or police tips so to gather his trust. Eventually, Julie agrees to risk herself by helping Bradford with enough evidence needed for Carston's arrest. Unknown to all, there is an informer at the bureau working secretly with Carston, allowing the racketeer to be one step ahead of Bradford's schemes. As Julie is to appear in court testifying against Carston, she mysteriously disappears.

Jack LaRue, J. Carroll Naish and Joseph Sawyer as Carston's hoods; with Irving Pichel, Henry O'Neill, Robert Strange, Robert Barrat and Paul Guilfoyle round up the cast. Plot was revamped by Warners as GAMBLING ON THE HIGH SEAS (1940) starring Jane Wyman, Wayne Morris and Roger Pryor in the Davis, Brent and Cortez roles. While the title SPECIAL AGENT was reused for a 1949 Paramount crime drama starring William Eythe, it is not a remake. Warners did remake SPECIAL AGENT as GAMBLING ON THE HIGH SEAS (1940), a 55 minute quickie featuring Wayne Morris, Jane Wyman and Gilbert Roland in the Brent, Davis and Cortez roles.

Being one of many crime capers of the 1930s, SPECIAL AGENT is another one of those films that holds interest throughout its fast-paced 76 minutes. Considering the fact that she is a secondary character to George Brent's leading performance, Bette Davis is of sole interest who makes this minor crime caper special for film buffs. Her role could have been played by any studio contract player as Ann Dvorak or Margaret Lindsay, and still be satisfactory, but is fine just the way it is. While Ricardo Cortez could play detectives (the 1931 edition of "The Maltese Falcon") or good-natured characters (1932's "Symphony of Six Million") with conviction, it is his recurring typecasting here as the czar of racketeers that gathers him more attention away from its leading players.

SPECIAL AGENT, which never had a home video distribution but available on DVD, can be seen on cable television's Turner Classic Movies. (***)

I like Ricardo Cortez, catch him whenever one of his movies comes on... which isn't very often sad to say. This is a pretty good film with plenty of suspense. Yeah a lot of cliches and Hollywood stuff but still it was very good. Also got to see a little different side of Joe Sawyer who has a supporting role as one of Carston's thugs.

If you like these old 30's gangster movies then I highly recommend it.

And of course seeing Bette Davis from very early in her career is quite a treat!

What's next for Bette Davis and George Brent? How about a little gangster thriller, which was a thinly disguised story about gangster Al Capone. Here slick Ricardo Cortez is the center of attention as the government is closing in on him and his shady activities. Leading the pack is Brent, playing the handsome special agent while Davis is cast as Cortez's secretary. Guess what happens when they meet, huh? This was an early film for both stars, and usually Davis would complain in later years how these lower budget productions were nothing more than time killers. However, it was Brent who said he did not like this film! Truthfully, its not a bad gangster saga, largely because of the dynamic cast. Of special note, Cortez was actually swearing in one scene, but the offensive words were cut and you can only see his lips move on screen! You can also see the reflection of the crew and cameras in one scene, off a polished car! Still fun to watch no matter what they say! Always on Warner Brothers dvd.